Swivel-bass vise.



E. M. WALKER.

I SWIVEL BASE VISB. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 24,1910.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

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E.- M. WALKER.

SWIVEL BASE VISE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 24;'191o.f

976,521 Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELI lVI. WALKER, F MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHARLES PARKERCOMPANY, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SWIVEL-BASE VISE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

Application filed. May 24, 1910. Serial No. 563,049.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, ELI M. WALKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Meriden, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, haveinvented an Improvement in Swivel-Base Vises, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to swivel base vises and has for its object toproduce a vise of this character whose jaws may be readily rotated toany desired position in the horizontal plane and locked there and inwhich the locking screw may be readily shifted from right to left orvice versa to accommodate a right or left hand operator.

With these and other objects in view I have devised the simple and novelswivel base vise which I will now describe, referring to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and usingreference characters to indicate the several parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel vise with the movable jaw removed;Fig. 2 a side elevation corresponding therewith, the bed being insection; Fig. 3 a central transverse section of the bed and base on aline at right angles to the section line of the bed in Fig. 2; Figs. 4:,5 and 7 are plan views of variant forms of the expanding locking ring;Fig. 6 a detail. elevation corresponding with Fig. 5; and Fig. 8 is adetail elevation corresponding with Fig. 7.

10 denotes the bed which is provided with cars 11 for attachment to abench or in any L suitable position for use.

12 denotes the base which is swiveled to the bed, as by means of ashouldered stud 13 which is tapped into the base, turns freely in thebed and is provided with a head 14 which lies in a recess 15 in theunder side of the bed. The base carries the fixed jaw 16, a guide block17 for the slide bar and a rest 18 for the movable aw.

The movable jaw, slide bar and the operating mechanism are not shown, asthey form no portion of the present invention, which relates to themeans for locking the base and fixed jaw at any required adjustment inthe horizontal plane.

The essential feature of the invention is an expansible locking ring 19which lies in a circular groove 20 in the bed and will contract whenreleased and means for expanding the ring to lock the base. For use inheavy vises the ring may be in two parts if preferred.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the ends of thelocking ring are separated and undercut and the ring is expanded bymeans of a wedge 21 lying between the ends thereof. The ends of thewedge incline from the bottom upward and inward and the ends of the ringare inclined upward and outward from the bottom to correspond therewith.Upon the side of the ring opposite to the wedge is an upwardly extendingstud 22. The base is provided on opposite sides with holes 23 one ofwhich receives stud 22 and the other a locking screw 24 which passesfreely through the hole and is tapped into the wedge. The shank of thelocking screw is provided with a circumferential groove 25 which isengaged by the tip of a set screw 26. Both holes 23 in the base havethreaded holes for a set screw leading thereinto. The locking screw isprovided with a head 27 which rests upon the bed and is provided with atransverse hole to receive a double-headed operating pin 28 which slidesfreely therein in the usual manner.

The operation will be obvious from the drawings. The engagement of theset screw with the locking screw retains the latter against longitudinalmovement; consequently, rotation of the locking screw must raise orlower the wedge. In setting up, stud 22 on the locking ring is placed inengagement with one of the holes 23 in the base, the locking screw ispassed through the other hole 23 and turned into engagement with thewedge and then the set screw is turned into engagement with the groovein the locking screw. To adjust the vise in the horizontal plane, it issimply necessary to turn the locking screw backward which lowers thewedge and permits the locking ring by its own resiliency to contractslightly in the groove and leaves the base and ring free to be rotatedto lace the jaws in any required position. A ter placing the jaws inposition, the base and jaws are locked there by turning in the lockingscrew, the effect of which is to raise the wedge and expand thelockingring in its groove, thereby locking thebase and jaws rigidly to the bedso that they'cannot be shifted without again operating the lockingscrew. To shift the locking screw from a right to a left hand adjustmentor vice versa, the set screw is turned out to release the locking screw,the locking screw is turned out of engagement with the wedge, the baseis lifted out of engagemen't with stud 22 and given a half turn and thestud placed in engagement with the other hole 23 in the base, thelocking screw-is passed through the hole 23 which has previously beenengaged by the stud, and turned into engagement with the wedge and thenthe set'sc-rew isturnediaato engagement with the groove in the lockingscrew.

In the form illustrated in Figs. -5 and 6,

which is adapted for heavy Vises, a two-part locking ring is used, whichis indicated as a wholeby 29. Instead of a single wedge, two wedges areused shaped as before to engagfl the cor-responding ends of the parts ofthe ring. holes tapped therein for engagement by a locking screw; Stud22 is dispensed with and a dust plug 30 is placed in the hole 23opposite to. the locking screw. To shift from right to. left adjustmentand vice versa, it is simply required to transpose the locking screw anddust plug.

In the formillustrated in Figs. 7 and 8,

the ring is expanded by a cam instead of by a wedge. 32 denotes thering, the ends of which are separated as in the first form and areprovided with curved recesses 33 facing each other, which receive thecorrespondingly-curved faces of a cam 34:. The cam is provided witharound shank 35 which rotates freely in a hole 36 in the base and isprovided with an angular head 37 which is adaptedto receive a wrench.Opposite to the-cam is. a stud .38 which engages the opposite hole 36the base as in the first form. As. the long diameter ofthe. cam isgreaterthan the diameter of the shank, no set screw is required toretain the cam in place. The locking ring is expanded to lock the baseand jaws in any; required position by. rotation of the cam, as indicatedin Fig. 7, a slight backward turn of the cam relieving the tension uponthe ring which contracts of its own resilience as: in the first form.The shifting of the jaws. from. right to left, or vice versa, iseffected substantially as in the first form, the base is lifted out ofengagement with shank 35 and stud 38 and the-stud and shank are eachplaced in the hole 36 in the base previously occupied by: the other.

lI-Iaving thus described invention -I 031m:

iBoth wedgesv have threaded eraser l. A device of the characterdescribed comprising a bed having a circular groove, a split lockingring disposed therein, a base swiveled to the bed, and means disposedbetween the ends of said ring and movable in a line parallel to the axisof said ring for spreading the same to lock the base to the bed.

2. A device of the character described comprising a bed having acircular groove, a split locking ring disposed therein, a base swiveledto the bed and connected to said ring, and means on the bed and movablein a line parallel to the axis of said ring for spreading the same intolocking engagement with the bed.

3. A device of the character described comprising a bed having acircular groove therein, a-base swiveled 111 said bed, a split lockingring disposed in said groove, a wedge disposed between the ends of saidring and an operating screw passing through said base into said wedge toraise the latter whereby the ring is extended into engagement with saidbed to lock said base in adjusted position.

at; A device of the character described comprising a bed having acircular grooved base swiveled in said bed provided with openings, asplit locking ring disposed in said groove and having a stud disposed inone of said openings, a wedge disposed between the ends of said ring anda locking screw disposed in the other opening and entering said wedge toraise the latter whereby said ring is expanded into engagement with saidbed.

5. A device of the character described comprising a bed having acircular groove, a base'swiveled to said bed and provided with openings,a locking ring disposed in said groove and having a stud disposed in oneof said openings, a wedge disposed between the ends of said ring and alocking screw disposed in the other opening and entering said wedge tomove the latter in a.line parallel to the axis of the ring to lock thebase in adjusted position, and a set screw for holding the locking screwagainst longitudinal movement.

6. A device of the character described comprising a bed having acircular groove therein, a base swiveled thereto, a split locking ringdisposed in said groove and having a stud connecting the same to saidbase, and means disposed between the ends of said wedge movable in aline parallel to the axis of said ring to spread the latter inengagement with said bed.

7. In a vise of the character described, a bed having a circular groovetherein, a base carrying a stationary jaw swiveled to said bed, a splitlocking ring disposed in said groove, a wedge disposed between the endsof said ring, and means independent of the movable jaw-operating meansto raise said ating means for spreading said ring in en- Wedge andexpand the ring into engagement gagement with said bed. 10 with saidbed. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 8. In a vise of thecharacter described, a in presence of two witnesses. bed having acircular groove, a base carry- ELI M. WALKER. ing a stationary jawswiveled to said bed, a Witnesses: locking ring disposed in said groove,and WILLIAM H. LYON,

means independent of the movable jaw-oper- C. F. PARKER.

